Method of removing and concentrating residue from containers



March 25, 1947 R, ALLING ETAL 2,418,063

METHOD OF REMOVING AND. CONCENTRATING RESIDUE FROM CONTAINERS Filed larch 1, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w N? m MK \N 7 RM. m W

ATTOF/VfKi 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. R. ALLING ETAL Filed March 1, 1941 March 25, 1947.

METHOD OF nnmovme AND GONCENTRATING RESIDUE mom con-mmrms t 73 l/VVENTOE.

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Marcli 2.5, 1947. L N Em 2,418,063

IEIHOD OF REMOVING AND CONCENTRATING RESIDUE FROM CONTAINERS Filed larch l, 194] v 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 355 I I: :l H 44 {I ll -7 H ;i 2 4 i: ,3: II

221 g 10! i i I Arron/v5 Ks March 25, 1947. r 2,418,063

METHOD OF REMOVING AND CONOENTRATING RESIDUE FROM CONTAINERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN vf/vg'ams.

, V A TTO/QA/E/f Filed larch 1, 1941 Fm I I I ul II II ILV F l l l l I Patented Mar. 25, 1947 UNITED STATE s, PATENT OFF-ICE METHOD-F REMOVING AND CONCENTRAT- mo RESIDUE FROM CONTAINERS E. Roy Ailing, Kenmore, N. Y., and Henning A. Trebler, Baltimore, Md., assignm's to Rice & Adams Corporation, Buflalo, N, Y., a corporation of New York Application March 1, 1941, Serial N0. 381,230

' 11 Claims. (01. 13423) washed, sterilized and dried for return to the producers. When the cans are emptied, a film of the milk or cream remains on the interior surfaces of the cans and covers, and in cold climates some of the milk or cream is sometimes frozen to the interior surfaces of the cans or covers, so that when the cans are emptied, some of the frozen milk or cream may remain attached to the interior surface of the can or cover. Heretofore the only effort to recover any of this adherent milk or cream has been by inverting the cans at the entrance end of a can washer, and allowing the cans to drain momentarily into a receptacle before being subjected to the cleansing operation. In the cleansing operation the inverted cans are first rinsed with water which removes a considerable portion of the adherent film of milk and cream, and the rinse mixture th'en discharged into a sewer or a stream. Ofiicials are becoming increasingly insistent that this mixture of milk and water be not discharged into sewers or streams, but the dilution of the milk or cream in the rinse water is so great that the product has no appreciable commercial value. One object of this invention is to provide an improved method of recovering a substantial portion of the milk or cream adhering to the interior surfaces of the cans and covers after emptying in a. manner to make the recovered milk and cream a commercially valuable product.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of cleaning the cans after emptying, with which prior objections against contamination or pollution of streams and discharge into sewers will be overcome, with which -the loss due to the adherentmilk and cream will be reduced, which will be relatively simple, which will require a minimum of apparatus and additional floor space, and which will not interfere appreciably with the normal routine of handling cans in a milk and cream receiving plant.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method for handling the cans after emptying at a milk and cream receiving plant, with which prior objections to pollution of streams and discharge of the rinse water into sewers will be overcome, with which the cans may be handled in the same manner and with the dispatch as previously, with which the waste of milk and cream received from the producers will 2 be reduced to a minimum and which will require a minimum of additional apparatus and floor space to practice.

Otherobjects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of several embodiments of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is 'a side elevation, partly in section, of the forward end portion of a can washer, having added thereto mechanism for the recovery. of

milk and cream from the inverted cans before their entry into the washer, in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is also a side elevation, but at the opposite side from that of Fig. 1, of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, and of the same side;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the entrance end of the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 to 3, but with certain parts in transverse section approximately along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan of the valve operating mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a similar plan of valve operating mechanism employing a two-way valve that may be employed in place of that shown in Figs. 1 to 5;

Fig. '7 is an elevation of a portion of the same;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a. portion of the conventional can washing machine, to the forward or feed end of which this improved mechanism is attached, and illustrating a, modified manner of heating the water in the rinsing tanks of the milk and cream recovery apparatus; and Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the improved mechanism as applied to the feed end of a can washer, but illustrating still another modification of the means for heating the rinsing water for the milk recovery tanks.

. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, a conventional can washer III is employed, the forward or feed end thereof bein shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Certain details of such washers which are not material to the present invention are omitted from the drawings and description in order to avoid confusion with the details which are shown and described. To the forward or feed end of such a can washer we provide a housing II which forms an endwise or forward continuation of the can washer nousing. In the conventional can washer Ill there is usually a rail I! on which the covers it! roll on edge as they travel through the can washer, and

in this particular embodiment of the invention these rails l2 are extended forwardly through the auxiliary housing H to the usual cover feed basket I l. The cover rail i2 is provided at intervals *along its length with notches or depressions l5 (Fig. 1) in which the covers momentarily rest and by which they are located in different stations for treatment. The covers are pushed along from one station to another by dogs or pawls l8 pivoted at I! to a reciprocating dog bar l8.

The dogs or pawls l6 are normally weighted at their tail ends so as to assume the positions shown in Fig. 1 in which their upper'endsengage the necks of covers rolling on edge, and propel the covers forwardly when the dogbar i8 i moved 15 endwise in one direction. Thereturn movement of the dog bar It will carrythe dogs l6 to the left-in Fig. 1, and the upstanding ends of each dog will ride under the cover next to the rear thereof, that is, be cammed downwardly as the dog passes under that cover, to a new feeding position behind the cover under which it has just passed. This is commonly employed mechanism for propelling the covers step by step through a can washer. The dog bar I8 is also extended for 5 wardly, or to the left in Fig. 1, and provided with spaced dogs IS the same as within the housing It) so as to feed the covers in housing ll forwardly (to the right, Fig. 1) step by step in the same way that they are propelled through the can washer I0 Similarly the conventional can washer has a plurality of rails I 9 (Fig. 4) which extend side by side, in parallel spaced relation to one another,

' through the housing of the washer I 0 at a point below the cover guiding means. Between certain of the rails l9 are disposed dog bars 20 which are mounted, in any suitable manner such,as upon a plurality of rollers 2|, for endwise reciprocation, and each of these dog bars 20 carries 0 a. plurality of dogs 22 pivoted thereto at intervals therealong, which intervals correspond to the spacing between successive stations for cans in the washer. These dogs are, as well known in the art, overweighted at their tail ends so that they normally assume the upstanding positions shown in full lines in Fig. l, and when they are moved to the left in Fig. 1 each upwardly extending end is cammed downwardly by the next succeeding can, in the rear until it clears the. neck of that can, whereupon it automatically resumes the upstanding position shown in Fig. 1.

When the dog bars 2| are moved to the right in Fig. 1, .which is in a feeding direction, the dogs 22 engage the necks of the inverted cans which are resting upon the track rails l3 and push the cans along the rails from one station to another, the movement of all the cans in the washer being simultaneous. Inasmuch as this arrangement is well known in the art, a detailed description will be omitted. Therails l9 and the dog bars 20 are, however, in accordance with this invention also extended through the housing I l and beyond the forward end of the housing which will be to the left in Fig. 1 so as to guide and propel the inverted cans through a plurality of stations before they reach the entrance end of the usual can washer l0. The extensions of the dog bars 20 have also the pivoted dogs 22 arranged thereon at intervals in the same way that they are arranged in the can washer ID, for feeding the cans step by step into and through the auxiliary housing II and into and through the housing of the asher l0.

Within the auxiliary housing ll and beneath the rails l9 are arranged a pair of tanks 23 and 24 which open upwardly below the rails i3, so that liquids may drain from the inverted cans supported on the rails l9 downwardly into the tanks 23 and 24. The tanks 23 and 24 may, if desired, be formed or a common structure so as to constitute a, duplex tank structure in which the tanks are arranged in tandem along the path of travel of thecans on the rails l9. Outside of the aux.-

the same, a drain pan 25 is disposed below/the rails l9 so as to collect the drip from any inverted cans resting upon the projecting ends of the rails IS. A drain pipe 26 in the bottom of this pan 25 discharges any collected drippings into a suitable receptacle 21. Within the can Washer 10, at the entrance or feed end, another pan 28 is similarly disposed below the rails l9 so as to collect drip from the inverted cans resting upon the rails IS in the zone above the pan 28, and a pipe 29 connects the pan 28 to the sewer or any disposal device.

In the upper part of the auxiliary housing II and below the cover rail I2, pans 30 and 3| are arranged in tandem. All liquid dripping or draining-from the covers in the auxiliary housing II will fall into the pans 30 and 3|. The pan 30 is provided {with a drain pipe 32 (Figs. 3 and 4) which opens into the upper end of a conductor pipe 33. The pipe 33 descends along one side of the housing II and opens into the upper end of a chamber 34 (Fig. 4) which is provided in a boxlilge protuberance 35 carried at one side of the tank. 23. A jacket 36 surrounds the sides and bottom of tank 23 so as to provide with the walls of tank 23 a chamber 31 for a heating fluid. The protuberance 35 projects from the jacket and with the jacket forms the chamber 34.

The chamber 34 is connected with the interior oi the tank 23 by a passage 38 (Fig. 4) at the bottom of the tank, and the conductor pipe 33 opens into the upper end of the chamber 34. A

screen 39 is disposed diagonally across the chamber 34 between the ends thereof from the upper edge of the outer wall of the protuberance 35 to the lower opposite corner edge of the chamber 34. Similarly the pan 3| is connected by a conductor pipe 40 (Fig. 3) with a box-like protuberance 4|, similar to the protuberance 35. The protuberance 4| is connected with the tank 24 by a passage corresponding to the passage 38,and contains another screen39 in its chamber. The tank 24 is similarly provided with a jacket 42 (Fig. 1) but for simplicity the end wall 43 of the Jacket for tank 23 may form the adjacent end wall of the tank 24. The chambers of the tanks 23 and 24 are preferably connected at their upper ends by an overflow pipe 44, and the tank 23 may also have an overflow pipe 45 which delivers the overfiow into a container 46.

A suitable pump 41 (Figs. 3 and 4) such as a centrifugal pump is connected at its intake side by a pipe 48 to the lower part of the chamber 34 beneath the screen 39, so as to draw water from the tank 23 beneath the screen 39. The

pump 41 is coupled to and driven by any suitable source of power such as an electric motor #39, and during the period of operation of this apparatus,

the motor 49 and pump 41 are continuously operating. The outlet connection of the pump 41 is connected by a pipe 50 to a valve 5| (Figs..1 and 4) A pipe 52 extends from the valve 5| into a position between the two center rails l9 (as shown in Fig. 4) so as to discharge upwardly into the interior of an inverted can disposed over the 0 iliary housing H, at the feed or entrance end of the contents of the tank 23 in agitation and.

pipe 82, a stream of water passing the valve II from the pump 41. A branch pipe 83 also exbe delivered from the pump 41 upwardly into the 7 interior of an inverted can to rinse out the interior thereof, and also against the inside face of the corresponding cover.

The water draining from this can and cover returns to the tank 23 where it is mixed with the other water in that tank, and the mixture supplied to the pump 41 for the rinsing of further cans and covers which pass in succession through the same stations in the housing II. A small bypass is preferably provided between the pipe 58 and the interior of the tank 23 so as to discharge a relatively small stream of water from the pipe 50 directly back into the tank 23 to keep movement at all times. Since the pipe 58 in this particular embodiment of the invention passes through a side wall of the tank 23, the bypass is easily provided by a short pipe 55 leading from the portion of pipe 58 within the tank 23 and discharging downwardly into the tank so as to set up a current in the water in the tank 23. Since a heating fluid is supplied to the chamber 31 surrounding the tank 23, the water in the tank 23 danger that the milk or cream carried in the i tank 23 may cook onto the walls of the tank 23.

The valve is suitably operated by the cans as they move into positions above the pipe 52, and various can operated valves are available in the market which will be suitable for this purpose. ;'Ihe particular mechanism illustrated for this purpose includes an arm 56 (Fig. 5) in a position to be engaged by the neck of an inverted can, as that can moves into a position above the pipe 52, and cammed a short distance sidewise of the path of travel of the cans. This arm 56 is fixed on a pivot shaft 51 (Fig. 5) which carries an arm 58 that operates through a collar 59 on a reciprocating rod 60, to move the latter endwise.' The rod 68 is suitably supported for endwise movement in a bearing 6 I, and carries an arm 62 which engages with and depresses the valve stem 63 of the valve 5!. A spring (not shown) within the valve 5| acting on stem 63 urges it outwardly and through the arm 62, rod 68, collar 59and arm 58 urges arm 56 into the path of the cans.

. A pump 65 (Figs. 1 and 3) similar to the pump 41 is connected at its intake side by a pipe 88 to the chamber of protuberance 4| and at its outlet side by a pipe 61 to a valve 68 similar to thevalve 5i. A pipe 69 leads from the valve 68 to a position beneath an inverted can that is over the tank 24 and between the center rails IS on which the inverted cans slide so that water from the pump 65 passing the valve 68 will be discharged as a stream upwardly into the interior of any inverted can which happens to be directly above it. Similarly a pipe also leads from the valve 68 to a position alongside the covers and with the pipe 88. The valve 88 is operated by the cans through mechanism similar to that described for operating the valve BI. and corresponding parts are given corresponding reference characters. The pump 85 is directly coupled to and driven by a motor 12, and pump 85 will be continuously operated in the same manner as pump 41. The pipe 58 also has a short bypass pipe 81a corresponding to the pipe 55, which discharges a portion only of the water from the pipe 58 back into the tank 24 to keep the contents of the latter in agitation or movement and thus prevent milk or cream in the water from cooking onto the wall of that tank.

The. liquid in the jacket chamber 31 of the tank 23 may be heated in any suitable manner such as by one or more steam injector devices 13 (Fig. 1) which are supplied with steam through a pipe I4 controlled by an adjustable valve 15. The chamber 18 formed between the Jacket 42 and the tank 24 (Fig. 1) also has its contents heated in a similar manner by one or more steam injectors II which are supplied with steam by a pipe 18 controlled by an adjustable valve 18. The pipes I4 and I8 are connected to a common steam supply pipe (Fig. 2) which is controlled by a valve 8|. The valve 8| is in turn thermostatically controlled through a conduit 82 from a thermal element 83 which is inserted into the tank 23, so that the steam admitted to the heaters for the Jacket chambers of the tanks 23 and 24 will be sumcient to maintain desired temperatures of water in the tanks 23 and 24. These thermally controlled valves 8| are common in the art and therefore are only shown conventionally and briefly referred to. By varying the relative ad- :Iustments of the valves 15 and 19, the temperatures of the liquids in the jackets for the two tanks may be given a definite temperature ratio the chamber between the tank 24 and its jacket is also provided with a valve controlled drain 81. To facilitate the addition of water. to the tank 23 we may provide an inlet pipe 88 (Fig. 2), and the chamber within the jacket for the same tank may have a filling pipe 89. Similarly the tank 24 has a filling pipe 98 for the chamber between it and its jacket and a filling pipe 9| opening directly into the tank.

The operation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 5 will now be described. The different successive stations through which the cans move are designated in Figs. 1 to 4, in order, as A, B, C, D, etc. The dog bars 28 of the can washer are reciprocated endwise at desired intervals by suitable mechanism (not shown) which is common in can washers, and as the dog bars 28 are reciprocated they feed the cans step by step in succession through the stations A, B, C, D, E, etc., and into and through the can washer III, with intervals of rest between the different steps or movements. Similarly the dog. bars l8 of the can washer which propel the covers I3 through terminates in a nozzle H for directing a stream of water against the inside face of any cover in the cover station above the can station aligned the washer III are reciprocated endwise at intervals by the mechanism of the, washer, which is well known in the art, and in timed. relation aeraoaa to the movement of the cans. The reciprocation of the dog bars [8 for the covers causes similar movements for the covers through correspond- 25 and be delivered into the receptacle 21. Im-

mediately after th can is inverted and placed as stated, the operator pushes it forwardly into the station A where it can be picked up by the first dogs 22 at the next operation of the can propelling dog bars. The pan 25 extends beneath the stationB so as-to collect all of the drip from the cans while in both stations A and B. At the same time-that the can is pushed into the station A, the attendant places the cover for that can in the cover feeding box i4 (Fig. 1), the cover being retained in the box l4 until the next operation of the dog bars when a memher a operated from the dog bar mechanism in a manner not shown but common in the art, lifts the cover in the feed box l4 and starts it rolling along the rail l2 with sufficient impulse to cause the cover l3 to roll into the first notch l5 which will be above the station B. The cans and covers will then be moved step by step first through the auxiliary housing H and then through the washer Ill. I

The tanks 23 and 24 are partially filled with water at the start of an operation, and the pumps 41 and 65 are placed in operation. When an inverted can moves into the station C, the neck of that can cams slightly to oneside an arm 56 at that station, which through the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 5, opens the valve 5|, whereupon water from the tank 23 is delivered with considerable velocity anad force upwardly into the interior of theinverted can in'station C. At the same time water is also delivered by the pipe 53 against the inside of the cover l3 above station C. The streams of water rinse out the cans and covers, and the water and milk or cream removed thereby drains down into the tank 23 where they are mixed with the other fluid. The mixture is recirculated through the pump back into the can and cover in station C.

pared to the streams delivered to the can and,

cover in station C, so that while the bypass is always open, ther is sufficient water under pressure delivered by the pump 41 to supply the streams to the can and cover in station C.

In the next cycle of operation of the dog bars, the can and cover which have just been rinsed in station C will be moved forwardly into station D and there they can then drain into the pan 30 and tank 23. At the same time that the can and cover were moved from station C to station D, another can which has been placed in station B and the cover in the feed box l4, will be moved into the station C and there subjected to the same treatment which has just been described. In the next cycle of operation a can and cover will be moved from station D to station E where they are subjected to another rinsing by water from pump 65 taken from the tank 24. the operation being similar to that lust described for the tank 23 and the stations C and D. The cans and covers are rinsed with the water from tank 24 while in station E and allowed to drain while in station F.

In the next cycle of operation the can and cover will be moved from station F to station G where they are allowed to drain into the pan 28. In the next cycle of operation a can and cover will move from station G to station H where they are subjected to the usual prerinse found in can washing machines, th drain being collected from pan 28 and conducted to a sewer. The water for this prerinse'is supplied through pipe 92 from a service supply water source and is controlled by a valve 93 which is opened by the can in the same manner that valves 5| and 68 are opened by the cans in stations C and E. The water in each tank 23 and 24 is heated through the jackets, and the hot water thus used to rinse the cans "initially while in stations C and E will wash out any frozen milk or cream that may be adhering to the interiors of the cans and covers.

the station C in succession, the concentration of removed milk and cream in the water is increased. Thi re-use of the water in tank 23 is continued until the concentration of milk and cream therein is sufilcient to make the mixture a marketable product such as for hog feed and chicken feed. It will-be noted that the water in tank 24 which isused for the second rinsing is collected separately and recirculated in the same manner, and while a great deal of the milk and cream residue or film has been removed in stations E and F, the concentration of the water in tank 24 will not increase as rapidly as it does in tank 23. The mixtures in tanks 23 and 24 may be kept separate from one another and removed when the de sired concentration is reached, but in the example illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, the overflow pipe 44 from tank 24 to 23 allows the increase in tank 24, such as due to the added milk and cream, to overflow into the tank 23 and displace some of the liquid from tank 23 through pipe 45 into the receptacle 46.

If desired, water can be added continuously at a slow rate to the tank 24 during a run and this will keep the liquid-in tank 24 gradually replenished with displacement of an equivalent amount through the overflow pipe 44 into tank 23, and this will cause an equivalent displacement into the receptacle 46. The machine will preferably be operated without this additional water added to tank 24 until after the concentration of milk and cream in the water of tank 23 has reached a desired concentration, and then the addition of a small stream of water to tank 24 during the remainder of the run will cause a displacement of the water from tank 23 of desired concentration into the receptacle 46. The amount of milk and cream remaining in the cans when they reach the stations G and H is so small that whatever is removed and drained out through the pipe 29 .will not be objectionable when discharged into a stream or sewer, and we have therefore overcome a very pressing problem of the officials in dispossame as for Figs. 1 to 5 except for the manner in i which the water in the tank-jackets is heated and supplied. The parts of Fig. 8 which correspond to similar parts in Figs. 1 to Shave correthe usual can washer is not'lost but is utilized ment of the invention the jacket chambers for ,tanks 23 and 24 are not heated by the steam injectors but by the circulation of a liquid therethrough. For this purpose heated liquid is obtained from the can washer. In the can washer, after the cans have been subjected to a washing operation with caustic or other detergent, they are subjected to a rinsing. For this rinsing a tank 94 is disposed beneath the path of travel of the cans. The rinse water therein is heated in any suitable manner (not shown) to a temperature of approximately 180 or more. This rinse water is withdrawn from tank 94 by a pump 95 and delivered by a pipe 95 to a valve 91. From 'the valve a pipe 98 delivers rinse water upwardly into an inverted can disposed thereover and a branch pipe 99 delivers some of the rinse water to the covers to rinse the latter as usual in can washing machines.

It is desirable to renew or replenish the rinse water in tank 94, and for that purpose water is added slowly in an approximately continuous manner. A pipe I00 is connected at oneend to the pipe 95 leaving the pump and at its othen'g end to the jacket chamber of tank 23, so that a portion ofthe hot rinse water delivered by the pump 95 will be conveyed to the jacket chamber for the tank 23. Apipe I0l opens out of the jacket chamber of tank 23 at another point and opens into the jacket chamber of tank 24. A pipe I02 opens out of the jacket chamber of tank 24 at a point spaced from the opening of pipe I III into that jacket chamber, and leads to the usual prerinse valve 93 of the can washer. Thus the water used for the prerinse for the cans while in station H is obtained irom the rinse tank 94 of the can washer and is circulated first through the jacket chamber of tank 23 and then through the jacket chamber of tank 24 to the prerinse r valve.

The operation of the valve 93 to cause prerinsing of the cans and covers. will cause a movement of this heated water through the jacket chambers of tanks 23 and 24, and thus will supply a continuous heating medium which, in many instances, will be adequate heating. This provides a continuing renewal of the rinse water for tank 94, andthe heat of that rinse water of first to heat the rinsing water in tanks 23 and 24 and then for directly prerinsing the cans in the washer. The pump 95 is operated in any suitable manner such as by a motor I03. The cans in the station J are subjected to an alkaline or other wash, that is, a wash with a solution containing alkali or other detergent normally contained in tank I04. The washing solution in tank I04 is withdrawn by a pump I05 and delivered to a nozzle I0I which directs a stream or this washing solution upwardly into an inverted can in station J and a branch pipe I08 conveys a part of this washing solution to the covers to wash the same. Otherwise the operation is the same as for Figs. 1 to 5.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 9, the construction is generally as explained for Figs. 1 to 5,'except that a further modification is made in the means for heating the water in the tanks 23 and 2-4. In this embodiment of the invention, parts corresponding to similar parts in Figs. 1 to 5 are given similar reference char! acters. A reservoir I09 is disposed alongside of or beneath the can washer, and steam supplied from any suitable source, such as a pipe 9. is

purpose.

tures, obviously more heat will be necessary than in the summer months or in warm climates.-

70 the valve 68.

admitted to a steam injector III which is disposed within the reservoir I09. A valve H2 in the pipe IIO controls the admission of steam to the injector and thereby controls the temperature of the Water in the reservoir I09. The valve 2 is operated by thermally responsive mechanism II3 which is connected by a control tube II4 to a thermal element II5 disposed in the tank 23. Thus the steam admitted to the injector I II is directly responsive to the temperature of the water in tank 23 which is used for the first rinsing of the cans and covers while in station C.

Through this arrangement, the temperature of the water in the reservoir I09 will be regulated in response to the temperature of the water in tank 23. A pump I I6, driven by a motor III, is connected at its intake side by a pipe II8 to the reservoir I09, so as to withdraw water therefrom. At its output side the pump H6 is connected by a pipe II9 to a T I20. A pipe I2I leads from the T to one end of the jacket chamber for the tank 23, and apipe I22 also leads from the T I20 to one end of the jacket chamber for the tank 24. Valves I23 in the pipes I2I and I22 enable independent adjustment of the relative rates of flow of the water from the pump "I I5 to the jacket chambers for the tanks 23 and 24, so as to maintain any desired temperature diiIerential in the water of the jacket chambers for tanks 23 and" 24. Suitable temperature indicating devices I24 which extend into the chambers of the jackets for the tanks 23 and 24, indicate at all times the temperatures of the water in those jacket chambers. Water is removed from the jacket chamber of tank 23 by a pipe I25, and from the jacket chamber of tank 24 by a pipe I26 which connects with pipe I25. The pipe I25 leads back to the reservoir I09.

It will thus be observed that the heated water in the reservoir I09 is withdrawn by pump II6, circulated through branch pipes to the jacket chambers of tanks 23 and 24, and then back through the pipes I25 and I26 to the reservoir.

45 Since the water in reservoir I09 is heated to the extent necessary to maintain a desired temperature of thewater in tank 23, the water in the tanks 23 and 24 may be maintained at any desired temperatures which are suitable for the In cold climates or at cold tempera- Otherwise the construction and operation is the same as explained for the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

0 be replaced by a two-way valve I21 having a rotor I28 (Fig. 7). The casing of valve I21 has an inlet port I29 to which the pipe 50 or 51 is connected, and an outlet port I30 to which the pipes 52 and 53 are connected. The casing is also provided with a port I3I to which is connected a pipe I32 which discharges water back into the tank 23 when this valve takes the place of the valve 5| of Figs. 1 to 4, and back into the tank 24 when a valve of this type replaces The pipe I32 thus replaces the pipe 55 or 61a of Fig. 1. The rotor I28 of the valve I21 is provided with a channel I33 which, when the rotor is oscillated, connects the port I29 alternately with ports I30 and I3I. The

rotor I28 is oscillated by an arm I34 which is connected at its free end to a rod or link 935, which is in turn pivotally connected to one end of an arm I38 corresponding to arm 62 of Fig. and carried by rod 6!}.

In this example the lever arm 56 when cammed sidewise by a can oscillates the valve rotor to place the groove i333 thereof in a position to connect the ports i29.and ltd and interrupt the connection to port iiii. When the can in engagement with arm 56 moves into the next position, the cam arm 56 will be moved by a spring i36a connected to arm its back into the initial position shown in full lines in Fig. 7 in which the port H9 is disconnected from the port led and is reconnected to the port i3l, so as to by-pass back to the tank 23 all of the water delivered by the pipe 50 when the valve i2?! is connected to the pipe 58, and to the tank at when the-valve i2? is substituted for the valve es of Fig.1. Various other arrangements for operating two-way valves and other valve constructions for accomplishing this result may, be adopted.

"It will be understood that various changes in the details and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

We claim a our invention;

1. An improved method of reducing waste in a liquid receiving plant of the type where milk or the like is received in a plurality of cans, the cans emptied, the contents Weighed and sampld, and the cans cleansed for return to the producers, which comprises rinsing the interiors of each of said cans, first with water from one body and free of added detergents, and then with water free of added detergents from another and separate body, with said one body of water used again and again for one rinse of each of said cans and said another body of water again and again for another and subsequent rinse of each of said cans, whereby the major amount of the film of milk or the like on the interiors of the cans will beremoved and taken up in said bodies of water, and by the re-use of the same water of each body for rinsing of a plurality of cans the concentration of milk or the like in each body of. the water may be increased to a marketable concentration in said one body of water and to a lesser extent in said another body of water, removing said one body .of used rinse water only after it reaches said marketable concentration, and then washing the rinsed cans with water having an added detergent.

2. An improved method of reducing waste in a liquid receiving plant of the type where milk or the like is received in a plurality of cans, the cans emptied, the contents Weighed and sampled, and the cans cleansed for return to the producers, which comprises passing the cans while upside down in succession along a. selected path through a plurality of stations, directing a stream of one body of water free of added detergent into the interiors of said cans in succession while they are in one of said stations, discontinuing said stream whenever no can is in that station and while cans are moving from station to station, collecting said used water and using it over and over to rinse successive cans in that station, directing a stream of a diiferent and separate body of water free of added detergent into the interiors of said cans in succession while they are in-another of said stations further has reached a marketable concentration with rinsed out milk, replacing such withdrawn water with water from said different body, adding an equivalent amount of fresh water without added detergent to said diflerent body, and then washing the cans with water having an added detergent in a still further subsequent station.

3. The improved method of recovering milk residue remaining in cans after the .cans have been emptied of milk or cream which comprises rinsing said cans while inverted, in succession first with oneselected body of water free of added detergents and used again and again by directing a stream of said water under pressure against the interior of each of said cans, allowing the inverted cans to drain, then rinsing the cans in succession with another body of rinse water also free of added detergents but having a lesser concentration of milk and cream therein used again and again for second rinsings by directing a stream of said second body of water against the interior of said inverted cans for the second rinsings, allowing said inverted cans again to drain, continuing this rinsing of cans until the concentration of milk residue reaches a commercially marketable concentration and then subjecting the cans to a cleansing operation, employing an added detergent diiferent than plain water to remove any remaining milk from the cans.

4. The improved method of recovering residues of milk and cream remaining in cans after the cans have been em tied, which comprises passing said cans, while inverted, in a selected path, collecting the drip containing removed residue from said cans while in an initial station in said path, rinsing the inverted cans while in another and subsequent station in said path by directing a stream of a selected body of water free of added detergents against the interior surfa e of said cans, collecting drip with removed res iuev from said cans while in another subsequent station in said path, mixing the drainings from the cans while in said subsequent stations with said body of water, and using said mixture again and again to rinse other cans in succession while in said first mentioned subsequent station until the concentration of milk and cream resi-.

due in said stream reaches a commercially marketable concentration, and then subjecting the lecting the drip containing removed residue from said cans while in an initial station in said path,

, rinsing the inverted cans while in another and subsequent 'station'in said path by directing a stream of a selected body of water free of added detergents against the interior surface of said cans, collecting drip from said cans while in another subsequent station in said path, mixing the drainings from the cans while in said subsequent stations with said body of water, using said mixture again and again to rinse other cans in succession while in said first mentioned subsequent station until the concentration of milk and cream residue in said mixture is a commercially allowing said further rinsed cans to drain while in the next subsequent station in said path, collecting the drainings from said cans while in said last two mentioned subsequent stations and mixing them with the second body of liquid, using this last mixture as the stream of rinsing water for said further rinsing of additional cans, displacing said commercially marketable mixture into a reservoir, replacing it with said another body of rinse water, and then subjecting the rinsed cans to a cleansing operation with an added detergent to complete the removal of residue from said cans.

6, The improved method of recovering milk and cream residue from the interiors of cans, after the cans have been emptied, which comprises passing each of said cans in succession and ,while inverted through a plurality of diflerent stations along a prescribed path, heating a body of rinse water by contact with a heated surface, withdrawing a portion of said water and forcibly discharging it into the cans successively as aid cans successively pass through one station in said path, interrupting such discharge when no can is in said station, collecting the water and the drippings from said cans so receiving water, while in said one station, mixing the drippings and water with the remainder of said body of water and using the mixture again and again for rinsing successive cans as they pass through said one station, and continuously bypassing a portion of said withdrawn mixture back into said body to keep the latter in agitation regardless of the presence of a can in said one station, and using the unbypassed portion of the withdrawn mixture to rinse said cans.

7. The improved method of recovering from the interior or a container in which a material is transported, after the container has been first emptied of said material, a maximum of the residue of said material which adheres to the container after said emptying, in a concentration which is marketable, which comprises rinsing the interiors of each of said containers in succession with a selected body of rinsing water free of added detergents, used over and over in rinsing successive containers, to remove some of the residue, subjecting the interiors of each of said containers in succession to a subsequent rinse with is transported, after the container has been firstemptied of said material, a maximum of the residue of said material which adheres to the container after said emptying, in a concentration which is marketable, which comprises rinsing the interiors of each of said containers in succession with a selected body of rinsing water freeof added detergents, used over and over in rinsin successive containers, to remove some of the residue, subjecting the interiors of each of said containers in succession to a subsequent rinse with another and separate body of rinsing water also free of added detergents, with said separate body, used over and over to remove further residue, removing rinse water irom said selected body in increments, only after a desired commercially marketable concentration of residue therein has been obtained, replacing theremoved rinse water with increments of rinse water from said separate body,

and replacing the withdrawn liquid of said second body with increments of fresh rinse water also free of added detergents, whereby the residue and rinse liquid withdrawn in the operation may all be of a marketable concentration, and a maximum amount of the residue may be removed from the containers, and then subjecting the containers to cleansing with water containing an added detergent which is kept separate from the rinse water.

another and separate body of rinsing water also free of added detergents, with said separate body used over and over to remove further residue, removing rinse water from said selected body only after a desired commercially marketable concentration of residue therein has been obtained, re-

placing the removed water with water from said 9. The improved method of recovering from the interior of a container in which a material is transported, after the container has been first emptied of said material, a maximum oi. the residue'of said material which adheres to the container after said emptying, in a concentration which is marketable, which comprises rinsing the interiors of each of said containers in succession with a selected body of rinsing water free of added detergents, used over and over in rinsing successive containers, to remove some of the residue, subjecting the interiors of each of said containers in succession to a subsequent rinse with 4 another and separate body of rinsing water also free of added detergents, with said separate bodyused over and over to remove further residue, progressively displacing as a stream, liquid from said selected body by the addition to that body progressively of liquid from said separat body, solely while the concentration of said material in said selected body is commercially ,marketable, displacing liquid from said separate body into said selected body progressively by the additibn of fresh rinse wateralso free of added detergents to said separate body, whereby there will be a progressive discharge of rinse liquid with a desired concentration of residue therein, and a maximum amount of residue will be removed from said containers by said successive rinsings, then applying wash water with an added detergent against the interior of said container to remove therefrom all trace of said material, and keeping the last mentioned wash water separate from said rinsing waters, whereby said residue may be largely made salable and contamination of said wash water with added detergent may be preliquid by direct contact of the unwithdrawn' part of the liquid body with a heated surface, and continuously diverting a portion only of the Withdrawn liquid from said stream before it is discharged into said containers, directly back into said unwithdrawn body of rinse liquid to keep the latter in agitation and prevent said residue from cooking to said heated surface, the undiverted portion of said stream being directed into-said containers to rinse them, and interrupting said undiverted part only of said stream when no container is in a positionto receive it. i

11. The methodof recovering from the interiors of containers aresidue, adhering thereto, of a material which is damaged by excessive heat, which comprises progressively withdrawing a part only of a body of rinse liquid and directing it as a stream into the interiors of said con-.

tainers in succession to rinse the containers, with I the same liquid used over and over to remove some of the residue from the containers, heating the liquid by direct contact of the unwithdrawn part of the liquid body with a heated surface, and continuously diverting a portion only of the withdrawn liquid from'said stream before it is discharged into said containers, directly back into said unwithdrawn body of rinse liquid tokeep the latter in agitation and prevent said residue from cooking to said heated surface, the

undiverted portion of said stream being directed into said containers to rinse them.

The following references are of record in the file of this patent: v v

UNITED, STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 745,752 Adams et a1. Dec. 1, 1903 1,642,419 Loew et a1, Sept. 3, 1927 1,108,539 Zahm Aug. 25, 1914 2,050,634 Stegemann' Aug. 11, 1936 76%.222 Adams et a1. July 5, 1904 850,199 Wright Apr. 16, 1907 864,131 Hood Aug. 20, 1907 1,216,496 Rice Feb. 20, 1917 1,640,835 Kendall Aug. 20, 1927 1,620,116 Maanum -Mar. 8, 1927 1,799,819 Jensen Apr. 7, 1931 1,568,081 Mitton Jan. 5, 1926 1,687,791 Price Oct. 16, 1928 1,846,564 McEwan et a1 Feb. .23, 1932 1,737,938 Miller Dec. '3, 1929 

